Blood and Water
by xXxMentalPancakesxXx
Summary: Blood and Water, which made our bonds stronger? Neither and both. It's not the blood running through our bodies that make the strongest bonds, or the water running down faucets. But the blood shed from pulsing veins, and the salty rivulets that pour down soft cheeks.
1. Prologue

They all watched transfixed at the boy surrounded by the carnage.

It was like watching a train wreck, tragic and disgusting, but there was a terrible morbid fascination within the human body that kept your eyes glued to the scene. The gruesome that made one unsure of what exactly what their reaction should be and so, simply did not react. The sudden hit with the unexpected and disgusting gore that made you keep on looking with no set reaction. It was this that kept them still and prone as they stared at the boy surrounded by the dead.

Dead bodies, burning in a shower of flames along with once proudly standing buildings. It all fell to the ground, the air filled with ash. The acrid smell of burning flesh, the lingering aroma of fear, and the terrible scent of metallic blood, filled their noses and choked them with the scent. The breeze that bought the smell with it ruffled their clothes caressed them softly, enveloping them in the smell, clinging to their skin as if determined to stay. Crimson surrounded them, a plethora of bodies all bearing similar expression. Fear etched within each crease of their faces, shock within their empty eyes and gaping mouths. All the bodies and expressions of horror. The bodies all fanned away from a single clear space.

He stood in the center, brown hair ruffling with the tainted breeze. The same crimson, the red of life, splattered over him delicately like an insane painters dream. Standing and looking at them squarely with burning amber eyes, a matching flame burning above his brow. Eyes of sorrow, of fear, of terror, and of anger, filled with crystalline tears that spilled onto the ground.

The flames flared around them, burning more than corporeal things.

They burned bonds.


	2. Ties

_2 years before_

Calm green eyes stared out silently as the group of people shouted out instructions, desperately extracting his experiments from the rubble. He smiled. How quaint. Amusement played across his features as they made sure to look through every nook and cranny, searching for something alive. Searching for his scientific results.

He watched the horror play across young features as they saw the results. How naïve, he mused as he watched them become angry with his life's research. They didn't understand, their minds much too shallow to contain the same depth that his did. The bodies were clean, unscathed, but their eyes still held horror as they looked upon the test subjects. Most were his failures, but some of the few were his more minor experiments with little changed to their DNA. However, they were all dead. He made sure of that when he escaped. They were of little importance anyway. A wicked grin took over his features as he looked at their expressions. Dead they may be, but he left the bodies intact. He wanted to see their reactions, and he was glad he did.

Then his eyes suddenly narrowed. However, _she_ had escaped. The only one worth saving had slipped from his grasp. She was too smart to have died, but amidst the panic, it was hard to tell.

Then from the corner of his eye, he saw it. The tell-tale flash of gold.

She didn't seem to have noticed him, but he saw her. A slow feeling of triumph overcame him, and he moved to go over to her. Then he stopped as he noticed where her gaze was directed at. One of the boys, the one with dark hair who stared quietly at the carnage around him. His eyes narrowed. He was from her past. She seemed hesitant on approaching him, understandable considering her recent changes. Mirth filled his features. She was afraid, that girl. Afraid of rejection.

While she was distracted, another seemed to have noticed her. A brunette, the one who seemed to be the leader of the group despite his mild appearance. She sensed his gaze and they made eye contact. He watched fascinated as the results of his research took place. Her gaze fluttered, wide and unnervingly wide as they took it all in. He always wanted to train her to control her powers better but time was short. The boy continued to watch, curious about the girl. He moved towards her, mouth open to speak, when she suddenly ran.

He almost outright laughed.

Her eyes had focused again, and by pure chance, she had seen him lurking in the shadows watching her.

He tensed, ready to chase, then suddenly relaxed.

No.

He wouldn't chase. Not yet. He was patient. He would wait.

He would watch her struggle, watch her break as she wandered the world, discovered further its cruelties. Perhaps when she saw the rot in the world, she would come back running to his arms.

With that he calmly walked away.

* * *

_1 year and 5 months before_

Bright blue eyes exploded open suddenly, drawing in a ragged breath of icy air. The pain from such a single action was immense, the cold air biting at his raw throat but he was grateful for it. It helped him grow awake and alert. A wave of pain hit him suddenly, his mind exploding in a whirl of agony, before a flash of deep discomfort passed down his calf. He took in another desperate breath before thinking to himself in bitter humor. _Definitely awake now._

His mind was fuzzy, not remembering much when it suddenly hit him with the force of a whirlwind. He jerked his leg unconsciously following the thought and another moan of pain passed his lips before he ordered his mind.

The previous night he and his sister had taken a job. It was simple, just a delivery job that they had taken after being heavily injured on another mission. However, their employer had not warned them of the contents, which turned out to be an important artifact that enemy famiglias wanted quite desperately. They had been ambushed, easily overtaken with the element of surprise and their old injuries aggravating them. He had been attacked from the behind, knocked unconscious, but his sister was taken. He cursed, struggling to rise. A ripping pain suddenly seized him as warmth spread down his back slowly. The wound on his back had reopened, making old pain more prominent than ever before. Cursing his luck, he sifted through his mind for a logical solution.

His sister had been taken, drugged if he remembered correctly, for information. She had been taken because to them it was an easier choice. Men tended to be more prideful and difficult. He snorted. His sister was stubborn as a mule, and more prideful than a lion. Her lips were sealed, but if they were as brutal as they were last night, than torture would be inevitable, and that was something he would rather avoid.

He didn't doubt his sister's strength, but she was also emotional. She was prone to be overwhelmed by anger and let it rule over her logic.

The odds did not look good. They most likely bought her to a rendezvous point, the attack obviously not spontaneous but well planned. Tracking her was easy enough, but the location was enemy ground and they would have an advantage in numbers and arms. He let out a rude curse, something he did not do often. A grimace graced his face as he tortured himself of the possibilities.

He struggled to get up, not at ease with the thought of the perils that his sisters were prone to. He eased his good leg under him, hoping to get some leverage. He only managed to jostle his calf further and rub his raw back harshly against the solid brick of the walls around him.

Another long shot of pain echoed through his whole body, shaking his bones in its intensity. Losing his balance, he banged his head against the brick wall. A groan escaped his lips and dance dots danced across his vision. His mind was in turmoil, and he briefly wondered of the possibilities of a concussion. A slow darkness danced across his vision. He fought to keep his consciousness but every time he held closer, it slipped further away. As darkness overcame his mind the last thing he saw was a human figure.

* * *

His eyes struggled to peel open, too lost within the comfort of darkness.

"So you're alive." A voice said in lilting Russian.

That got him awake. Eyes snapped open in alarm and he quickly sat up only to be pressed closer to the bed by small cold hands. Gasping at the sudden rush of pain he complied easily. A small giggle came from the figure above him

"And kicking too." The child, for she barely looked to be 10 years of age, smiled brightly at him before continuing to say "I'm going to get someone. I'll be right back." A door shut soundly before light footsteps fluttered away.

Properly bewildered, the male looked around assessing the situation he had ended up in unconsciously. He was in a small room, warm and quaint with pale blue walls. The bed he was under quite large and the fabric soft under his skin. Judging by the lack of personal possession he assumed it was a hotel room. An expensive one at that, if the amazing view was anything to go by. A dull pain shuddered down his body and he looked examine himself.

His shirt had been discarded, showcasing the bandages wrapped around his torso. The bottom of his pants had been ripped off to show the once bloody calf wrapped similarly. He experimentally poked at the flesh. It was sore but lacked the agony it had before. Silently thanking the small girl from before, he looked for a way out. He supposed he could sneak out the door easily enough, the window out of the question with him being so injured. He seemed to be on the third story, and the only thing under him to break his fall was a load of thorny bushes.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to lift himself off of the bed. The girl seemed to be taking a while so he merely needed to get out quickly before she came back.

"I wouldn't go anywhere if I were you."

The voice was unfamiliar, and very obviously not the voice of the little girl from before. He looked easily at the figure before him, a tall female with child eyes and a frown on her face. He realized that his legs were hanging off the bed in preparation to leave. He gave a charming smile and said smoothly.

"I need to get back to my family. They're waiting." It wasn't a complete lie, and he moved to ease himself up. To his surprise, she knocked him easily to the bed and grabbed at his leg, unwinding the bandages there. Too stilled by surprise, he let her do as she pleased, fingers deftly pulling apart the linen. He cringed when he saw the wound. It was stitched together neatly, but it was obvious that it was far from healed. It was still bright red and raw, blood leaking out in small dribbles, something he assumed came about by his sudden movements. Logically, it would be best to wait until the wound healed to take any action, but the stakes were too high.

"You need to let that heal before you rush into enemy territory Finn Acerbi." He stiffened and looked quickly at the dark haired girl that stood coolly by the door frame. Her eyes met his in challenge, dancing blues daring him to attack. He instinctively brushed his fingers against the line of his pants, only to be met by denim.

"Are you looking for this?" In the small hands of the blindfolded child were a number of rings and an oddly shaped knife. He glared into the white bandages around her eyes, feeling a less than logical feeling of betrayal as the child held his weapons. Her smile turned more sheepish before suddenly the items were airborne and in his hands.

He looked at them with an expression half wary and half questioning. The dark-haired girl merely started to talk in a cold voice.

"We have no intention of killing you if that's what you were thinking. Me and my companion merely recognized you by the pin on your collar, and decided to help you. We have a job asking to steal an object from the famiglia that stole from you, and we were hoping to find some kind of lead." Then she suddenly shook her head and gave him a hard look. "We're merely here to reap some benefits. If you help us, we'll help you find get your sister back. And before you ask, it's surprising what you find out when drunken men boast."

His eyes asked his next question for him easily in the tense silence. A small giggle broke the pause and the child said with a tone that was both tinged with amusement and matter of fact.

"If we were going to kill you, we would have done so much earlier while you were unconscious. It's less messy when the victim doesn't struggle you know. Don't get suspicious now, we're just trying to help Mr. Acerbi." He was almost shocked at the easy tone she used when discussing his possible death. In a normal situation it would be normal, but she was a child. It was obvious that the girl was involved in the mafia, both of them, but this girl barely looked to be in her double digits. She had seemed so innocent and…sweet that it was hard to imagine her as part of the dark world he had become so involved in.

As if reading his mind, she said sweetly. "I'm not as sweet as you think Mr. Acerbi." Her smile turned wry. In that moment his surprise regarding her circumstanced lessened. There was just something so forlorn and bitter that made her seem much older than her small stature said.

"Why exactly are you helping me? It's easy to track famiglia locations through loose-lipped amateurs, so why me? I can't help you in any way and with my injuries I'm a dead-weight." His eyes met the cold eyes of the taller girl and he was startled when she suddenly smiled. It was a tiny upturn of lips, but the most sincere emotion he had seen in the girl, and he had a feeling that she didn't show emotion often.

"I don't know Mr. Acerbi."

And suddenly, it didn't matter.

* * *

_1 year before_

Black shoes tramped upon the grey cement, a cool breeze ruffling soft brown hair and bringing the sweet scent of flowers and tea. Lips curled into a small smile, mindless slow steps more purposeful and quick, less lost than they had been moments before. The nose twitched as it came closer to the source of the sweet-smelling haven; close enough to discern specific secrets. A fragrant perfume of flowers, coffee, and perhaps a tiny tint of chocolate lured the head of brown to a quaint bookstore tucked securely between a boutique, and a jeweler's store. Smile turned wider, the black shoes entered the little bookstore, the jingling of a bell announcing their arrival.

"Welcome to Cunctum Bookstore!" A smile painted the face of the girl who greeted the brunette, green eyes warm and joyful.

Books lined the bookstores walls, shelves stacked with volumes old and new, tenderly growing flowers lined by the windows. The owner of the black shoes smiled, relaxing amongst the intertwining scents of cedar and sweets.

Tsuna breathed the scent of the store deeply. The smell was wonderfully calming and warm, wrapping him in a blanket of soft comfort. All lessons on keeping up his guard and wariness dissipated quickly as the atmosphere of the bookstore seeped into his bones. A sudden smell of chocolate reached his nose and the brunette looked startled, looking around to find the source of the heavenly scent. The girl in front of him let out a laugh, a care-free, infectious laugh that had Tuna look at the green-eyed girl in curiosity.

The girl looked amused and said while still chuckling softly "That would be Leo's chocolate that you're smelling. Nice, right? Come in, we're not only a bookstore but we sell different kinds of coffees, teas, and sweets depending on Leo's mood. There's a bunch of armchairs and tables around too it you're looking for somewhere to rest."

Tsuna let himself be lead closer to the scent by the chattery girl, rather enjoying her care-free attitude and cheerful disposition. They finally reached a counter where a dark-haired boy waved lazily at them, in front of him a tray of truffles and chocolate covered strawberries. The girl waved back enthusiastically and led Tsuna to the counter, giving him full view of the chalkboard that showed what was being sold today in loopy handwriting.

Before he could speak, the girl had led him over to a seat and in seconds there was a clatter of the ceramic plate against the simple table, a mug of fragrant liquid beside it. Tsuna looked surprised at the girl and she smiled widely

"Specialty drink for newcomers. It's on the house." She said brightly.

He hesitantly took a small sip, wary of what flavor it would produce on his tongue. Peppermint mixed with the scent of flowers and a light fruitiness that washed over his senses. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to savor the taste and the girl laughed. Brown eyes snapped open quickly and he gave her a sheepish look which in turn made her laugh louder. This just made him blush a slight rose, much to his embarrassment.

Her laughter subsided and she said with a sweet laugh "It's a blend of herbal teas that Leon made so the flavor is one of a kind. He likes to experiment. It's nice right? Damn what people say he makes the best stuff in town!" Tsuna laughed and had to agree with the girl. Then she suddenly smiled.

"I finally got you to laugh. You look much better like that." Tsuna turned red, and glanced shyly up at the girl.

There was a sudden sweet jingling of bells, and soft steps. From around a bookshelf on History, a tall dark-haired girl emerged, dresses elegantly in a dark sweater and simple slacks. Brown made contact with pale ice-blue, and their gazes held. There was something familiar in her pale blues, though he was quite sure he had never seen this person nor that shade of blue anywhere. However, buried deep under the coldness was a familiar flame he couldn't quite put his finger on. Then a certain curious wonder came into those eyes before understanding settled. A wispy smile graced elegant features and suddenly a pale hand was placed in front of him, a low and lyrical voice filling his ears with a sound that he suddenly knew would become very familiar.

"Hello. My name is Sirena."

* * *

_6 months before_

Wide brown eyes stared into white fabric before a voice said softly.

"I was that girl, Tsuna."

* * *

_5 months before_

And suddenly those eyes, twin images of each other, seemed much more important now, along with the sweet smiles of another and her expressive low voice.

He knew, that though they weren't vital, they were important.

He knew that they thought the same, for their vital was her.

And his were his Guardians.

* * *

_1 week after_

They avoided him, though it was understandable.

Another tear escaped his eyes, and he let it fall.

After all he was a murderer, and they deserved much more than that. He could take it, the pain, the cold disgust, even the fear, as long as they were safe. As long as they were content, happy, and their bonds remained the safe. And even though theirs was shattered, he would stay silent, and let them leave him in essence. He was obligated to this famiglia, he wanted to protect them and to do so, he needed to keep up appearances. That would keep them protected.

So he didn't care if they hated him. If Yamamoto never smiled for him anymore, and Hayato hated him he didn't mind. If Lambo and Chrome showed outright fear, and Ryohei looked at him as a disappointment and thought him a harm to his own friends, it wouldn't shake his resolve. And if Mukuro looked at him the same way he knew he looked at the Estraneo, along with Hibari that met his gaze with silent accusation, so be it. After all, his famiglia was safe and that was all that mattered.

It was for his famiglia. The famiglia that he had vowed formally to serve and rule. For the family that made up his life. So he could bear with it, even if only to keep them safe at his expense, he didn't mind the pain.

Even so it didn't stop the other tear from escaping him.

* * *

_1 month after_

"Tsuna you haven't been eating haven't you. That's bad you know, and Fen with throw a fit."

His expression was pained as he looked at the smiling girl. How could she still look at him like he was a human? After he killed all those people? He was a dirty disgusting and worthless monster who didn't deserve to live. He was useless. Dame-Tsuna.

"We love you Tsuna. We really do you know. We've done much worse too you know. Finn, Fen, Me, and even Sirena have blood on our hands. We even have a small desire to kill certain people. Does that make us disgusting? Do we deserve to die? Should all of us just burn?" She looked sad as she said it, uncertain.

The brunette frantically shook his head in horror. What was she talking about? She had done nothing wrong and-

Suddenly hands were on his cheeks, forcing them to face the stern but soft expression on the girls face.

"Then you don't either Tsuna. You're valuable, and lovely, and absolutely loved. So cheer up okay Tunsa? We'll be here for you. And Sirena said that you should go back to Cunctum Bookstore. Lady misses you and Al wants you to try a new sweet. Finn said that he hopes you can cope and Fen said you're an unselfish bastard that's allowed to be selfish with us. I'll talk to you later okay Tsuna?" With that, lips pressed against his cheek and disappeared.

The words were brief, but he felt the warmth in them, recalled the faces paired with each message, and for the first time in a long time, smiled.

* * *

**Well this is turning out a lot darker than I expected.**

**Huh.**

**First multi-chaptered story ever! I don't know I don't have the patience for it, but I really have this idea stuck in my head, so why not? Oh and there is OC's in this. As in more than one. I know, perfect Mary-sues, blah blah, kill them all, burn them before they breed, but I'm hoping to make them seem like actual people, so yeah. It's more Tsuna-centric so, I'm hoping him and the others aren't too OOC.**

**Any grammar, spelling, or stupid mistakes will be fixed ASAP, sorry if there's a lot but I tend to miss things like that. **

**I know, this is a very vague story, and I'm not sure if it makes sense. It's supposed to be ambiguous but I'm not sure if it's too ambiguous to the point of being confusing and frustrating. Not much is explained, but it's kind of one of those things where the idea is just a small tibit that's extremely important but isn't explained until later. So if you want, you can kind of really just push them towards the back of your mind and come back to them when they become clearer in future chapters.**

**Yeah, I know this is kind of boring, but it sets the scene for later chapters. It's necessary but tedious information.**

**I'm hoping to update every week or so, but damn Asians and their summer schools make it hard. A lot of this is actually written in said school because it's hard to find time elsewhere. One reason why my math teacher hates me in addition to me correcting his terrible English. :)**

**So...I'll see you next week (?)**


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